Cooler



June 23, R. w E 2,045,44Q

' I COOLER Filed Sept. 15, 1955' pnni B INVENTOR fimmnv/I. ('04.;

ATTORNEY Patented June 23, 1936 "STATES OFFWE Raymond W. Cole, Cranford, N. 3., assignor to I 'C'crdiey & Hayes, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 15, .1933, Serial No. 689,586 3 Claims. (area- 143) This invention relates to improvements in tie-adapted to extend. The cabinet receives .and water coolers which support inverted bottles, par-- carries a well t formed of enamel ware or other ticularly such coolers as have a compartment suitable rust proof and easily cleanable material for receiving food stuffs at one sideo-f awell which and adapted to hold water which flows into it 5 contains water fed from the inverted bottle. It from the. bottle. As will be understood the well is generally desirable that such coolers be as or waterreceptacle becomes filled to alevel at compact as is possible, consistent with the whichitservesto seal the mouth of the bottle, this volume of waterandfood stuffs to be cooled, and being considerably below the top of the well. also that the inverted bottle be centrally located The well 4 is off-center with respect to the neck is with respect to the mainbody of the cooler so of the bottle in order to provide space for a comthat the bottle, which may be heavy, will not partment 5 at one side of the cabinet for receivtend to upset the cooler and so that the coning food stuffs, milk bottles, and so forth; which struction will present a. balanced and attractive may be introduced into the compartment 5 appearance. Furthermore, itis desirable thatthe through the door 6. The compartment 5 may food compartment be closed off from the water be'of anysuitable form and construction, either 15 compartment so that odors from the foods will as, a'separate, enclosed chamber or as the ennot spoil the taste of the water. To provide adetire free space within the cabinet. A cooling quatespace for a suitable food or bottle cooling coil I surrounds the well 4 to cool the water therecompartment the water receptacle mustbeoffset in. This coil, it will be understood, is in comto one side of the center of the cabinet. When inmunication with any convenient form of refrigverted bottles are placed on such a cooler, on crating unit, not shown. If desired, ice might account of the limited clearances, required by be used in place of the cooling coil. Separate practical considerations, between the mouth of cooling means may be provided for compartment the bottle and the nearest portion of the offset 5, if desired. The cooled water may be withneck of the bottle strikes the wall of the recepta- Atop plate 9 may be detachably secured to the top cle with the result that either the bottle or wall is edges of the wall of the well in any convenient chipped, damaged or broken. At the same time. manner and be arranged to prevent circulation the bottle is tipped while it is being put in place, of the air from the space around the cooling coils a so that water is apt to flow out of the bottle and and from within or around the compartment 5 3O splash over the top of the wall of the well, with into the space above the water in the well. By the result that it lodges on the top plate where supporting the bottle through a removable cover it may rust parts of the construction or leak into above the partition Q, the well is readily acthe food compartment. cessible for cleaning, and the construction may An object of the present invention is to probe easily and simply assembled. 35 vide a construction which meets the various out- The inverted bottle 3 is supported on the cover lined requirements in a superior manner and at 2 through portion H) of a unitary ring or gasket the same time avoids the disadvantages enumerll formed of rubber or other suitable cushioning ated, while being simple and inexpensive to manmaterial, the portion ill being seated upon a subufacture. Other objects and advantages will stantially flat portion it of the cover, which por- 40 become apparent as the following detailed detion surrounds the central opening. The ring ll scription of one form of construction in achas a generally downwardly extending, relatively cordance with the invention proceeds, reference thin portion l3 which merges at its upper end being had to the accompanying drawing, wherewith the inner wall of portion Ill and is adapted to i engage the edge of the central opening through 45 Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly in section portion l2 to position the ring on the cover. The

and partly broken away, of the upper portion of portion it may thus be considered as a thick an illustrative cooler, and flange on portion 13. The lower end of portion Fig. 2 is a plan view of an improved ring conl3 of the ring is of reduced diameter so as to stituting a feature of the construction. more closely surround the neck of the bottle, lying 50 Referring to the drawing, there is shown at l between the neck and the wall and extending the upper portion of a cabinet enclosing the 0011- within the well to a suficient distance below struction and having a cover 2 removably carthe top of the wall of the well to prevent water ried therewith. The cover 2 has a central aperfrom splashing over the top of the well onto the ture through which the neck of an inverted bottle top plate 9, yet terminating slightly above the water receptacle, it frequently happens that the drawn through a faucet 8 in the usual manner. 25

surface of the water. Preferably, as stated, the lower end of portion I3 is of considerably smaller diameter than the portion In, or in other words, the portion l3 flares outwardly and upwardly to form a sort of funnel. The lower end of portion I 3 may advantageously extend parallel to the neck of the bottle for a substantial distance. Yielding means are thus provided for guiding the neck of the bottle when it is positioned or removed and a funnel is formed to prevent undesirable splashing. Suitable air vent grooves l4 may be provided on the under surface of the flange portion l 0 and these may be extended vertically along the upper end of the portion l3. It will be understood that provisions for venting may be made in other ways, if desired. The grooves might, for example, be placed in the upper surface of the ring which supports the bottle, or venting may simply take place through the cover.

I have found that through a construction of present character, the Various requirements outlined are satisfied in a most effective manner. Breakage either of the well or bottle, and splashing of the water out of the well, while the bottle is being put in place, are substantially avoided by the simple, unitary cushioning device which is readily assembled with the other parts of the construction and retained in place without the need for extraneous retaining means.

The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description. and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding any equivalents of the features shown and described, or portions thereof, but it is recognized that various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention claimed.

I claim:

1. In a cooler construction adapted to support an inverted bottle, a well, a housing surrounding the well, said well being off center with respect to the housing, a food compartment at one side of the well, a plate secured to the top of the well and extending across the balance of the housing, a removable cover for the housing above said plate, said cover having a central aperture through which the neck of an inverted bottle is adapted to extend, and generally annular cushioning means including a flange portion for seating said bottle on said cover and a portion extending downwardly and lying adjacent the edge of said aperture at its upper end and having its lower end below the top of the well adjacent a portion of the wall thereof.

2. In a cooler construction including a cabinet, a well disposed oif center with relation to the cabinet, a compartment for food-stufis at one side of the well, a removable top for the cooler having an aperture centrally located with respect to the construction and through which the neck of an inverted bottle is adapted to extend, and unitary, funnel-shaped, cushioning means for sup porting an inverted bottle on the top by engagement with the bottle at points well removed from the neck thereof, said means having an apron adapted to prevent the neck of the bottle from striking the well and to prevent splashing of water out of the well while the bottle is being placed on the cooler.

3. In a device of the class described including a well, a funnel-shaped cushioning member mounted at a point above the well and having a portion at its top adapted to support an inverted bottle by engagement of the top thereof at points well removed from the neck and having an openended downwardly extending apron portion extending an appreciable distance along but spaced from and approaching the neck of the bottle.

RAYMOND W. COLE. 

